


Good Night (and sweet dreams)

by alternate_me



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Apocalypse, Charlie Bradbury & Sam Winchester Friendship, Charlie Lives, Charlie Ships Castiel/Dean Winchester, Dean Wearing Castiel's Trenchcoat, Deaths, Dreams and Nightmares, Dreamsharing, Forests, Game of Thrones References, Gen, Human Castiel, Human Castiel in the Bunker, Looks confusing but it makes sense I promise, M/M, Men of Letters Bunker, Pole Dancing, Sam Winchester Ships Castiel/Dean Winchester, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Swordfighting, Wet Dream, there's blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 06:05:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5194976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alternate_me/pseuds/alternate_me
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's an ordinary day in the Winchester's bunker. And it means that it's a pretty weird day for most people. </p><p>The day actually began pretty normal: Sam got out for his morning run; Charlie didn't sleep at all because of those damn online games. And then they took a nap, and something very peculiar happened. </p><p>(<em>Have you ever wished to know what other people dream about?</em>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Unexpected Dream

**Author's Note:**

> This fic belongs to the group "stories which I've written a while ago and which I hadn't finished and/or posted yet".  
> In the begining, I had in mind to do just a fun, light thing, and then it got a little crazy, and I may have spotted some angst when I read it again.
> 
> Anyway, it all makes sense, I promise. Hope you enjoy it.

The bunker was silent when Sam arrived. He was all sweated, his breathing still fast. He walked downstairs, unplugging the phones from his iPod. He felt his legs weak, he had run a lot that day, maybe it had been a little too much, but the day was so beautiful. Even it being a cold day, the sun shone in the morning, and it certainly was great for jogging.

The things in the bunker were apparently as he had left them. Everything was still asleep, there was no sound anywhere. It was an interest sensation moving around a place where everyone is asleep, as you tiptoe in order to not wake anyone, as you do things with caution for a door not to screak, or a drawer not to make much noise. It was as if he was guarding them, telling them everything was okay, they could sleep in peace, he would do nothing to disturb them.

Sam passed by the kitchen door, he decided that he should take a shower before eating. He passed by Charlie’s room, the one which was closer to the kitchen, and turned to the corridor on his left, silently. He walked for a bit and then reached his bedroom door, opening it with caution, and taking his clothes with him as he left again, heading for the bathroom.

He passed in front of Cas’s bedroom, and then, more ahead, Dean’s too. He could hear Dean snoring as he passed by, and he shook his head, smiling. Dean still refused to believe him when he’d told him that he did that, but well, sometime Sam would record it.

Sam reached the bathroom and opened the door. His bath wasn’t long, but he did take a while under the hot water, letting it relax his aching muscles. When he turned off the water, he suddenly felt cold and rushed to dress up, putting on one more jacket than he usually did. He stopped by his bedroom to let his shoes there on his way to the kitchen.

When he was almost in the kitchen, he saw that its light was now on. He stopped for a moment, and then he grabbed the first thing he saw lying next to him – which was a broom – and stepped carefully ahead. Charlie’s room was still silent when he had passed by it, and it made him even more worried. Maybe he was being paranoid, but it was better to proceed with caution.

He saw a shadow moving next to the refrigerator, and he got close to the wall, leaning his back on it. He took a deep breath before moving forward and stepping into the kitchen.

A glass of milk fell to the floor and spread its liquid all over the place. A very scared Charlie faced him, her eyes wide, her sleeping t-shirt still on, the slippers now soaked in milk.

“Charlie, I-“ Sam muttered, suddenly and totally sorry.

“Do you always try attacking people when they’re getting a midnight snack?”

Sam looked down at the broom and chuckled awkwardly, putting it down, against the wall. He turned to Charlie again, rubbing his chin and frowning.

“Did you just say… _midnight_ snack?”

Charlie looked at him quietly, confused. Then she shrugged.

“Yeah, you guys don’t _mind_ it, right?”

Sam raised his eyebrows and rushed to explain.

“No, no, it’s not that” he smiled “It’s just that, do you know what time it is?”

Charlie suddenly froze, the suspicion which was formed on her eyes turned fast into an almost certainty. She moved her eyes around, probably looking for a wall clock.

“It’s seven thirty in the morning” Sam saved her the trouble, observing her reaction as she raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes.

“It’s the lack of windows” she looked at the ground, ruminating over the issue as if it were a really serious one.

“I’m sorry?”

“You know, the lack of windows, you can’t ever tell when it’s day or night in here” she paused, looking up at Sam again “Freaking annoying. And, well, I’ve got distracted playing a new online game I found. I thought it was about 3 a.m.”

Sam chuckled as he stepped closer and kneeled in front of Charlie, picking up the biggest shattered pieces of glass from the floor.

“I’m sorry again” he said “I thought you were in your bed, and well, I was afraid that someone had broken in”

“No, but really, is it your life style or a brother thing?” Charlie said, stepping away to let Sam finish cleaning. She took off her slippers and held them up “In the other night I was passing by the TV room, where Dean was sleeping on the couch. I woke him up - I still don’t know how, because I made sure that I was very silent - and he got up extremely fast and in position to fight” she shook her head “You guys _need_ to relax”

Sam tilted his head in agreement.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right, last days have been a little rough, with those cases and all” he got up, going to the storeroom through a secondary door in the kitchen. He came back with newspapers.

“Especially for Dean, he’s been working hard lately” he put the pieces on the newspapers and wrapped them “But he’s, well, better than he was a couple of months ago. I think he’s really okay now”

“Yeah, I think the effects of the Mark are really gone by now”

“Yeah” Sam said, taking the newspaper with the shattered glass to the garbage bin. 

“Before that, I couldn’t imagine it, you know, Dean as a bad guy. I’ve always took Dean as being really sweet and caring” she paused, shrugging “I couldn’t picture it”

“Neither could I” Sam stopped, looking at her “He was always the one that usually kept _me_ away from things like that. And, even when he _had_ motives to go 'dark side', he would fight it” he sighed, suddenly tired, remembering a lot of things of the past year.

Charlie noticed how uncomfortable he was, and in order to break the sudden dense silence, she cleared her throat. Sam looked at her and she smiled kindly at him.

“I was thinking that I should make breakfast then, as apparently my midnight snack has been canceled” she started “It wouldn’t be a trouble to make it in a double portion”

Sam smiled back at her, his eyes fond of her caring words. It wasn’t hard to understand why all of them had agreed at once that she could definitely live there with them. She was more than a part of the family, and Sam was sure that Dean and Cas felt the same way towards her. She was like the younger, kick-ass sister none of them had had.

“Sure, don’t you want me to help?”

“No, no, I got this” she smiled “You can take my slippers to the laundry though” she raised them to Sam as a peace flag and he accepted them.

“Okay. I’ll be in the TV room if you need any help” he said, and left the kitchen, walking towards the laundry.

After Sam had washed the slippers, he walked towards the TV room and sat on the couch, stretching his legs and resting them on the little table in front of him. He turned the television on, and changed channels till he found one which was broadcasting local news, then he placed the remote control beside him on the couch and rested his head. From time to time, he’d hear the sound of glass and metal things hitting against one another in the kitchen and he would wonder what Charlie was doing. But it didn’t take too long for him to find out, as she soon shouted from the kitchen.

“Where do you guys keep the tea?”

“ _Tea_?” Sam replied.

He listened to Charlie’s steps approaching the room, and then she appeared at the doorway. 

“You don’t want tea?”

“No, no, I do” Sam hurried to answer “I mean, Dean wouldn’t like it, but I do… I’m the one who buys tea, actually”

“Why am I not impressed?” Charlie smiled a bit.

Sam smiled back, but then he soon frowned.

“What do you mean?” he started asking, but Charlie had already left the room.

After a little while, Sam heard Charlie’s voice again.

“ _Where do you keep the tea_?” she shouted.

Sam stretched his neck and shouted back.

“ _In the cupboard near the sink_ ” he paused for a bit “ _The green one_ ”

“ _What_?”

“ _In the-_ “

“Never mind” she finally said, interrupting him “Found it”

Sam sighed, turning to the TV again, looking at the news which were on. It didn’t take Charlie too long to appear in the room, carrying a tray with two cups of tea and two toasts on it. Sam raised his eyebrows as she laid the tray on the table and sat on the floor, in front of him.

“It smells delicious” Sam said, grabbing a piece of his toast and taking a bite “It tastes delicious too” he said, his mouth full.

“You really sound like Dean now, you know?” Charlie said and they both laughed.

They ate a bit their toasts in silence, glancing at the television from time to time. Sam was the first one to take his cup of tea, blowing a little bit to cool it. He carefully sipped a bit and then he frowned, his mouth contracting.

“It doesn’t have enough sugar?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I think that’s it” he said, putting three teaspoons of sugar into the cup and mixing it fast.

Sam sipped the tea again, and made the same expression as Charlie looked at him, curious. So she decided to sip her own tea, and, when she did so, she frowned, putting her tongue out in an expression of disgust.

“Oh, my god, this is _awful_ ” she said.

“Glad to know I’m not the only one who thinks that” Sam said, putting the cup down “What flavor is this?”

“I don’t know” Charlie said “It was just there, you know, and it looked really good. I didn’t pay much attention to the flavor, but I think that it was the flavor of some root, or something”

Sam shrugged.

“I didn’t go shopping last time, so it was probably Dean who picked it up”

Sam thought he’d seen a doubtful expression on Charlie’s face for just a second, but it soon disappeared from her face, so he said nothing.

“Okay, later you’ll show me what tea it was, so I’ll make sure I don’t get it next time, okay?”

Charlie scratched her head, the doubtful expression was on her features again.

“Okay” she said, and then, changing her tone of voice “But now, what about we finish our breakfast?” she added fast.

Sam nodded, grabbing the other piece of his toast and biting it, while Charlie got up and circled the table, sitting beside him on the couch. She took the last piece of her toast too, while Sam tried to conclude his thoughts from before, a question being formed on his mind.

“Have you already bought your Secret Santa gift?” Charlie suddenly asked, and Sam was brought again to reality, his thoughts losing themselves in his mind at the mention of the words _Secret Santa_.

“Of course I have” he said “I always buy it two weeks before Christmas Eve, more or less”

Charlie nodded, and Sam added.

“Did you buy yours?”

“Hum, not yet, I mean, I ordered it online, so it’s not here yet, but it’s on its way”

“You’ll ask them to deliver it here?” Sam asked, suddenly alarmed.

“No, of course not, I asked them to send it to one of the post offices of a town a little far from here. I’m careful with those things” she smiled “And, besides, I couldn’t risk having it sent here, what if one of you boys found it first?”

Sam smiled back at her, curiosity now on his eyes. It had been the first time on his life that Sam participated in a Secret Santa, and he was really happy about it. He had taken care in choosing the gift, and he was sure that the person who’d get it would love it. Christmas Day was a week apart, but he was really anxious about it. It was a fine idea Charlie had given them.

“Cas asked me advice two weeks ago about what to buy” Charlie said, her eyes now on the television.

“What?” Sam said, astonished “Do you know whom he got?”

“No, _no_ ” Charlie rushed to say, turning to face him “I mean, I think he would have told me, if I hadn’t stopped him before he could end the sentence, but I did, and I ended up just giving him a commonplace advice”

Sam nodded, placing his napkin on the table and rubbing his hands to clean them a bit. Charlie did the same, leaning back on the sofa, looking at the television. She yawned.

“I think this Secret Santa thing will be great” she said.

Sam yawned too.

“Yeah, sure, I’m looking forward to it” his voice was slower, smoother.

Charlie leaned her head on the sofa and closed her eyes.

“You won’t mind if I sleep now, will you, Sam?” 

“Of course not” Sam said “I’d tell you to sleep, actually, I don’t know how you can still stay awoken”

“Well, it’s not the first night which I’ve spent awoken” she said “But come on, you know what I’m talking about, I’ve read Chuck’s books, I know you guys have had bad nights of sleep”

Sam leaned his head back too, staring at the ceiling.

“Yeah, well, but I think that after we found this bunker, Dean, at least, is trying to recover from all the bad night’s sleep we’ve had over the years, he sleeps as steady as a rock”

Charlie giggled, yawning again and then tilting her head to the side, finding a comfortable position. Sam stayed quiet, watching the news, and Charlie was soon asleep.

Sam stood there for a while, feeling his muscles now sore from the running, the sensation of tiredness weighting over him. The temperature on the bunker was pleasant, not too hot, nor too cold; the air was still, everything was quiet. Sam yawned again, the monotonous voice on the TV making him sleepy. 

He stretched himself, putting his feet on the table and resting his head. He blinked from time to time, trying not to sleep, till he gave up and closed his eyes, telling himself there would be nothing wrong about taking a nap.

***

Before Sam opened his eyes, he could feel the cold grass in which he was laying down. He stood up fast, staggering, completely disorientated. The light blinded him for a second and he could listen to voices coming from a short distance, through the trees.

_Trees?_

Everything was now losing its blurry aspect and Sam could state that, yes, there were trees. Many of them, actually. He was in some kind of forest, or so it appeared to be. He looked down to his own body, and he found out he was wearing weird clothes, as though he was a peasant in medieval Europe. Then, he put his hands on his head as waves of pain which struck it made him squat. 

Sam tried hard to remember what had happened, but the last thing that he remembered was watching television as Charlie fell asleep. And then it hit him. The tiredness, the yawning, he had fallen asleep as well, and that, well, that should be his dream.

However, he usually could tell when he was dreaming, and he was thinking too vividly for that to be the case, he was certain of it. He had never had a dream like that before. But, if that wasn’t a dream, then where was he? What kind of place was that? And, the most important question, how had he ended up there?

_What is happening?_

Then, as his headache was easing, he could discern some of the sounds he was listening to, and the first thing that he noticed was a distant calling for his name. The voice was weak and it sounded as if it was far away, like an echo. Then, out of nowhere, he discerned the sound of footsteps extremely close to him. He turned around in a reflex, his eyes widened in confusion, but his body in a defensive position, ready to fight.

And there was… Charlie.

Sam frowned at once, the confusion now reaching new levels. He lowered his arms which were in front of his face and looked at her. She looked tired, she had dirt all over her body, and there was a bleeding wound in the corner of her eye. She looked thrilled when she confirmed the tall man lying on the grass was indeed Sam.

“ _Sam_ ” she yelled, and run the short distance between them “Oh, thank Chuck you’re here”

“Chuck?” Sam asked, looking even more confused.

“Oh, sorry, I’ll explain it to you another time, it has nothing to do with this place” she said, offering her hand and helping Sam to get up “You know, it’s more a matter of… Fandom”

Sam frowned, and Charlie rolled her eyes.

“See? I did it again, sorry” she said as Sam looked around, still a little unstable on his feet “I’ll explain it to you once we are safe and away from here”

Then they suddenly listened to screams coming from where Charlie had arrived. Sam watched terrified as two men became visible by the nearest trees. They were both running towards them, swords in his hands.

Charlie stepped forward and Sam was about to stop her when he noticed, for the first time, that she was dressed in a weird medieval outfit - some kind of armor – and she was also carrying a sword. Then, in the seconds that followed, he could do nothing but watch as she stepped ahead, defending herself as the first man attacked her.

Sam retreated, for the second man passed by Charlie and advanced towards him. Sam walked back, still facing the man, who brought his sword up and tried to pierce him with it. He was fast to avoid the blows, and he was able to run and hide behind a tree as the man had stuck his sword on the ground.

Sam breathed hard and fast, completely disorientated and scared. All he could hear was his heartbeats on his ears. For the first time in a while, he didn’t know what to do, and he was motionless. He tried to pry from behind the tree to see what had happened to Charlie, when a sound made him turn around. The man from whom he had run was in front of him, the sword ready to tear the air and strike him at his heart.

He couldn’t move at that moment, and, for a fraction of second, he felt cold, as though that blade was already in his chest, the blood flowing. And then, at the next moment, a blade pierced the man’s chest, and was pulled off again. Blood fell on Sam’s face and he was too confused for a moment, and then the man fell to the ground, revealing Charlie behind him, holding her sword - from where blood dropped. Her face and clothes were partially painted in red.

Sam was in shock for a while, then he looked away, his eyes looking for the other man. He found him on the ground of the clearing where they were before, a pool of blood around him. Sam looked at Charlie again then, momentarily terrified.

“What the _hell_ was that?” he screamed.

“Did you want me to let him kill you?” Charlie said, putting the sword away.

Sam passed his hand on his forehead, completely astonished.

“No, no, of course not. But what is this? What are you doing with a sword? What the hell is all of this?”

“Now, those are the good questions” Charlie said, and she started walking amongst trees “Come with me, Sam, because, apparently, we are at war and we need to find somewhere safe”

Sam nodded, getting up with some difficulty. He threw a last look at the two dead men and followed Charlie, staggering at first. Her walking was firm, it looked like she’d done that her entire life, what scared him a little bit. 

Then, about fifty meters away from the bodies, they stopped by one of the highest trees Sam had ever seen. Its root was gigantic, spreading in all directions. The tree looked to be hundreds of years old, and Sam lowered his head unconsciously, as if that tree demanded his respect.

As for Charlie, she was already climbing a ramification of root, and retracting to a place in the shadows of it. There was little sunshine that could get by the dense leaves on that part of the woods, and the air had a greenish color. Charlie sat down, apparently exhausted. She tossed the sword onto the ground with anger, looking at it as though she was resented.

Sam followed her and sat down, looking at her from some distance. He leaned on the root of the tree, his breathing was now stabilizing, and he looked forward again, at Charlie.

“Where the _hell_ did you learn how to do that?”

Charlie lowered her eyes, there were shadows on them.

“I wouldn’t say Oz was that much fun as I thought it would be” she said, her voice low.

Sam then stopped, realizing he’d never actually asked about it – about how she’d come back, about what had happened to Dorothy.

“Charlie” Sam said slowly, coming closer to her “Look, I’m sorry”

“No, you’re right” she said “It’s… disgusting” and she threw a look at her sword, her eyes trimmed with tears.

Sam took her hands into his, and she looked at him. His eyes were kind.

“Charlie, Dean and I, we did much worse, you don’t have to blame yourself for it”

“You don’t know what I’ve done” she said, gulping down “Besides, knowing you guys went through the same things won’t wash it away”

Sam then hugged her, holding her tight, and she hugged his back, leaning herself on him. It took a moment for them to get apart. It looked like a tear had rolled down Charlie’s cheek as she looked at Sam.

“But I think that it is like a requirement to being a hunter, right? I just, I think I’ve thought that with me it would be different”

Sam was about to say something when she stopped him.

“Enough about it, Sam, please” her voice was getting firm again “This looks like one of my nightmares, and I know that you guys get a couple of them too, so let’s stop it right there”

Sam looked at her for a moment, and then he just nodded.

“Okay” he said “Just, just tell me what happened in here”

“So” she started, the words leaving her mouth in a hurry, her voice breaking down a little “I don’t know much about what’s happening but for the fact that I woke up on the ground – just like you did – about seven hours ago, I would say. And, at first I assumed that I was dreaming, but it was all so…”

“ _Vivid_?” Sam asked.

“Yeah” she looked at him “Exactly. And then I noticed that I was wearing these weird clothes – which looked so much with Oz’s” she stopped then, shaking her head as if to put aside those memories “The next thing I knew was that there were screams, and people coming to kill me, and I-I did what I could to defend myself”

Sam nodded.

“So, this is some kind of what, war?”

“I think so” Charlie said “I mean, I’ve seen lots of groups of warriors going East, and I’m almost sure it’s happening near here. There is smoke in the sky about a mile in that direction” she continued, pointing ahead of her “But there is something about this supposed _dream_ that just doesn’t feel right, just like when…” and then she just stopped, realization taking over her features completely.

“Oh, my God” she said, standing up and looking at Sam, her eyes wide.

“What is it?” he asked, his voice suddenly urgent.

“This is just like that time when I was attacked by that Djinn woman” she said “In my dream, I was like, uh, inside a video-game, and it felt just like this”

Sam suddenly widened his eyes, getting up as well.

“Do you think a Djinn attacked us, Sam? That we’re just dreaming, and… uh, dying in the real world?”

“I don’t know” Sam didn’t sound convinced “I mean, usually a Djinn makes you dream about something good, or-“

Then it was Sam’s time to stop talking and widen his eyes in comprehension. He looked at Charlie, and his voice came out urgent.

“Charlie” he said, pronouncing his words slowly “where did you take the tea of?”

Charlie frowned, her face looked disappointed.

“What? How does this even help?”

“Just, look, did you take it from the green cupboard? Which, which flavor was it anyway?”

“No” she said, still not understanding what Sam’s intention was “I opened the refrigerator to take some cheese and I found one that was already ready, the… natural made one?”

Sam frowned, pursuing his lips, as if he realized his assumption was right.

“Yeah, okay, the problem is that there was no tea which was already ready”

“ _Of course_ there was! It was in the refrigerator, in a jar? There was even the root - or the thing which you guys used to make it - in the recipient”

Then Sam frowned even more.

“That section of the refrigerator is actually the one we use to keep some of our hunting stuff which needs to stay cold”

Charlie tilted her head in disbelief.

“ _What_?”

“…and I can now definitely tell you that the flavor of the tea was African Dream Root - the thing that Dean used to enter your dream when you were captured by that Djinn”

Charlie was motionless for a few moments, then she pursued her lips.

“Are you saying that I did this to us?”

“Well, it certainly wasn’t your fault, I mean, I did tell Dean that thing looked a bit like-“

“Who keeps _dangerous_ things like that in the kitchen, Sam? _Who_? I mean, you could at least have put a label on it saying ‘DON’T DRINK’. It’s a simple, rational thing to do”

“Well, you and Cas moved in just a short time ago, and I honestly didn’t think of doing that” he closed his eyes shut, sighing.

Charlie pursued her lips again and walked around the place. It looked like she was trying to think hard about something.

“So” she finally said “This is… my dream? Your dream?”

“I-I don’t know, we’ve just used it once. We don’t quite know what else it can do… Charlie?”

Sam stopped talking, looking at Charlie’s expression. She had her eyes lost somewhere behind him, and she looked paralyzed.

“ _Charlie_?” he said, his voice alarmed.

Then Charlie turned his head to him, pointing at the place which she was looking at and whispering.

“Sam, I think I know whose dream it is”


	2. Out of the Forest into the Desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was certainly a surprise that Charlie introducing Cas to "Game of Thrones" has turned out to create a _dangerous_ situation for her.
> 
> It surprised her even more to see what Dean's dreams were like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It think of this chapter as kind of funny (some parts of it),well, at least, it was definitely fun to write it.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it.

_“Sam, I think I know whose dream it is”_

Sam turned his head fast, looking at where Charlie had pointed. His eyes widened because of the scene in front of him.

Two people had just approached the big tree. They hadn’t seen them, as Sam and Charlie were behind the big root, and because they were heading towards another direction. Sam recognized Castiel at first. He was wearing a shining armor, and had grown a beard. He walked with will, looking around him in order to discover possible hidden enemies.

However, it was the other person who made Sam’s jaw drop. Cas was pulling someone by a chain whom Sam thought to be a prisoner at first. It was only when they were closer to him and Charlie that Sam recognized Dean. But Sam couldn’t blame himself, after all, Dean had a long hair, and was completely dirty, his clothes were torn. He followed Cas in a tired pace, and he was apparently saying something which they couldn’t listen to because the distance didn’t allow it.

Sam turned back to Charlie, who looked at the ground, apparently a little ashamed.

“This is Cas’s dream, probably. It all makes sense now” she said, looking up obliquely.

“How does this make _any_ sense? Cas is pulling my brother _by chains_!” Sam said, and turned to look at them again.

Then he turned to Charlie, and his voice was squeaky, his features even more worried.

“And Dean doesn’t have one hand”

“Well” she continued, and her voice almost couldn’t be heard “I, uh, I may have showed Cas a few episodes of Game of Thrones yesterday. And _that_ ” she pointed at the two men walking “may or may not be another version of Brienne and Jamie”

Charlie didn’t think it was possible, but Sam’s eyes widened even more after she’d finished speaking.

“ _What_?” he screamed. 

Charlie covered her mouth with her hand, alarmed, as Sam’s voice left his mouth louder than he had expected. She threw herself on the ground fast, pulling Sam by his shirt with her. But it was too late.

“ _Who is there_?” they both listened to Castiel’s voice.

Charlie mouthed _“Shit”_ and tried to be as quiet as possible.

“ _Oh, come on, are you listening to voices now_?” they both heard Dean’s voice.

Sam was praying for Cas to listen to Dean and carry on with their journey, but they soon listened to the former angel’s voice again. And now it was closer.

“ _We heard you_. And if you don’t get out _right now_ , I’m going to interpret it as a hostile action” 

Their footsteps were now audible, and Charlie, in a reflex movement, got up, showing herself. Sam followed her at once, his face showing that he was already regretting it. Castiel raised his sword at them, but, once he saw them properly, he lowered it again. Sam sighed, relieved.

“Charlie?” Castiel asked “Sam?” his eyes went from one to the other “What are you doing here?”

Sam and Charlie looked at each other, a blank expression on their faces. There was a moment of silence, while Cas advanced, bringing Dean with him, and then Sam decided he should say something.

“We-we” he stuttered “I think I should ask what _you_ are doing to my brother”

Cas nodded at once, not appearing to be shaken at all by Sam’s question. 

“I think it’s fair for me to tell you this. I promised my brother Michael that I would bring him his vessel in safety”

“That-that doesn’t look _‘in safety’_ ” Sam said, pointing at Dean’s right arm, where his hand should be.

“Yeah, I told him that” Dean said, speaking with them for the first time “It doesn’t seem to matter”

“ _There were_ ” Cas started, interrupting Dean “minor issues, indeed. But I’m sure Michael will be able to fix it. And anyway” Cas said, looking at Sam and Charlie “What are you doing here, Sam? I thought that Lucifer had already got you”

Sam frowned.

“Cas, this was like years ag-“

He was interrupted as Charlie stepped on his feet and whispered _“Dreams”_ at him. Sam looked at her, and suddenly got what she meant - after all, whose dreams follow a rational chronological line?

“Uh, Cas, we would like to know” Charlie said “Is there a war going on or something?”

Cas seemed to be confused.

“Well, of course” he frowned “For ten years now”

Sam and Charlie widened their eyes.

“And… what-who is fighting against whom?” Sam asked.

Then Cas frowned even more at them.

“Angels against demons” he said, more slowly than it was necessary, he sounded confused “There are battles like that all across the globe. We are _living_ the Apocalypse”

Charlie looked at Sam. She seemed to be completely scared, and Sam’s expression wasn’t much different from hers. She turned to Cas.

“Uh-I’m, I’m a little uninformed. How did it start?”

“With Sam saying yes to Lucifer, of course” he said, and then he squinted his eyes, looking at Sam “But you are not possessed. Why are you not possessed?”

“We-we are from the past” Charlie said, fast “Zacharias brought us here for us to see what is going to happen”

Cas then nodded, smiling at them for the first time.

“Oh, _of course_ ” he shook his head “I should have figured it out, because I noticed that you were strange to this time, and also, well, because Charlie is dead now”

Charlie widened her eyes.

“I’m _what_? How did _that_ happen?”

“Are you sure you want to know?” Cas asked “I mean, most people don’t want to know how they’re going to die. I was actually accused of witchcraft, in the tenth century, for telling people that and scaring them”

“I _want_ to know Cas, so I may be able to avoid it” Charlie said, her attention completely on him, curious.

“Uh, well, you died trying to save us”

“That’s not _so_ bad” Charlie said, looking at Sam “Apparently I’m good at saving your ass” she smiled and turned back to Cas “Okay, but how did it happen?”

“You-“ and then Castiel stopped, his own words appearing strange to him as they left his mouth “You ran away from me while I was protecting you because-“ he paused again and squinted “Because of no reason at all, and then you got killed by a man with one arm”

Charlie widened her eyes.

“Uh- But he had a rough time trying to kill me, right? I defended myself pretty well, probably”

“Uh-“ Cas said, sounding really uncomfortable then “I actually… don’t know, I-I didn’t get to see it”

“ _I die and you don’t even see it_?”

“Well, now that I’m thinking about it, it doesn’t make much sense” Cas said.

“Cas, come on” Dean interrupted “We were walking to a safe place, I’m sure you can tell that story on the way. I don’t like this forest” he said as he looked around with a suspicious expression on his face.

“Actually, Cas, please” Sam said, quickly “I’m sure that this is a very _real_ and _pertinent_ subject, but you were telling us about the Apocalypse and the threats which can kill us _now_ ”

Castiel nodded.

“Of course, I’m sorry, uh- as I was saying, Lucifer has possessed you, Sam. And Dean has refused to say ‘yes’ to Michael, and, at first, I actually supported him, but I can’t handle this war anymore” he said, his eyes suddenly dark “I can’t handle watching my brothers dying like that”

“ _Nightmare, then_ ” Charlie whispered to Sam.

Then, suddenly, Castiel looked away, at what appeared to be nothing.

“What was it?” Dean asked, looking at the same spot which Cas was looking at “What are you listening to?”

Then Cas’s face was once again turned to Charlie and Sam.

“You need to go” he said, his voice sounded urgent “ _Now_. There are warriors coming this way”

Then, right after he’d said that, they all started to listen to footsteps and screams. When Sam looked around, to his surprise, there were people with black eyes emerging from the woods. He stepped back, getting closer to Cas, and he looked at Charlie. She was terrified, her eyes moved from one point to other, and, following her eyes, Sam realized that those creatures were circling them.

There was a moment of unbearable stillness, and then, all the demons advanced towards them. Charlie raised her sword - and Cas did the same. Sam retreated himself in a defense position, and, as the demons ran to them, he felt scared like he’d never been in his life - even _knowing_ that all of that was just a dream. 

It felt like he was going to die, and, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t run away from one of the creatures, who advanced fast towards him. Sam felt like he couldn’t move fast, and there was only time for him to curse Cas’s dream before the demon finally stopped in front of him, ready to kill Sam with his sword. 

And then, everything turned black.

***

Her mouth was dry. She could sense little particles of sand which made her tongue feel thick; the air entered her mouth and nose dry, and she breathed it out with difficulty.

Charlie sat up, coughing and spitting. Her hand was on her neck, and she had the terrible sensation that the air was too heavy to breathe. The bright light hurt her eyes and gave her a headache. She had no idea of where she was. 

Then, as her eyes got used to the luminosity and she looked around, she realized that she was standing in the middle of a quiet road, surrounded by a desert landscape. She stood up and staggered, noticing she wasn’t wearing her armor anymore. She was in an ordinary outfit: jeans, a plaid shirt and a pair of converse shoes.

The forest had just disappeared and had made room for that dry and hot place. Charlie thought that maybe Cas’s dream had changed in a heartbeat when they were about to get attacked - what made sense. But also, when she looked around, looking for Sam, and found out she was all alone, she started getting worried. 

Sam had said that they didn’t actually know what the effects of that root were, and she thought that maybe because they had consumed so little of it, the effect should have already ended. Maybe her consciousness had got lost as it returned to her body or something. She had read about it - the dream lands which were mostly unknown by science.

Charlie shook her head then, looking down. She took a deep breath and told herself that it should be another dream, and that she should keep moving. So she raised her head and looked around once again, now paying attention to the scenery.

There were only lonely mountains on her left, and the cacti were all over both sides of the road. But she could see a few trees in the distance on her right, and, immediately, she started walking towards it.

The hot air was more of a curse than a blessing to her lungs, and the sun made her skin and head hurt. It was insanely hot. The road seemed to be infinite, and the more she walked, the more it looked like she was at the same spot. She could swear she had seen the same pointy rock by the side of the road more than twice.

After what seemed to be an eternity of walking, Charlie was all sweated, and her mouth was completely dry. She stopped, putting her hands on her waist, totally tired. She sat on the middle of the abandoned road, begging for a rest, but the asphalt burned and she had to get up fast.

There was a moment when she thought she would faint. She heard a buzz on her ear and everything started to get distant. Charlie sat down again then, not caring about the warmth of the road. She put her head between her legs, letting the blood oxygenize her head.

She looked ahead at a cactus which stood a few meters away from her. It was driving her insane, because she didn’t have anything to cut it with. She couldn’t thing straight anymore, but there was a vague fear that all of that situation would never be over. And then, as she was getting up to find something to cut that cactus, she heard a song.

At first, she couldn’t identify which song it was, but it sounded like pop music. It took a while for her to know where the song was coming from, but once she did, she followed it. After a few more moments of walking, Charlie passed by a little hill on the side of the road, and, behind it, she found what it looked to be a strip club. 

The red paint on the building was a little stained and dingy, there was a lot of graffiti on it. A big neon sign brought the name “HELL’S ANGELS”, besides the drawing of a girl with a halo above her head and a devil’s tail. 

_Dean’s dream then_ , Charlie thought.

Her suspicions got bigger as she noticed that there was only a 1967 Impala parked in front of the club. Charlie walked faster, the music getting louder and more distinct as she approached the building. At that moment, though, her attention was attracted to the place in front of her, the continuation of the road on which she was walking. There was a forest standing right there in front of her, on both sides of the road - a forest in the middle of the desert. It was like two different landscapes which were connected by that strip club that stood there, in the middle.

She sighed - recalling that she was in a dream-, and walked slowly towards the strip club, not sure of what to do. Then, at that moment, she heard noises coming from the forest on the other side of the building. She stopped, getting in a defensive pose - in case she needed to defend herself. 

What came out of the trees and bushes would certainly scare anyone, but it only made Charlie laugh and sigh, relieved. A six feet man stepped out of the border of the forest, his almost long hair was disheveled and his clothes were creased, besides, he was all covered in leaves.

When Sam saw Charlie, he pulled his hair back and away from his eyes, as though he wanted to be sure that she was really there. Then he ran towards her.

“Oh, Charlie, thank God” he said, as he reached her and rested his hands on his knees, bending over and breathing heavily.

“I was wondering what had been made of you” Charlie said.

“I-uh” Sam said, trying to catch his breath again “I was lost into those dense woods. I mean, suddenly everyone disappeared, and I woke up to what I thought was the same place, but now I’m not so sure”

“Why not?” Charlie asked “Is it the strip club?” she pointed at the building.

Sam looked to the side, confused for one moment. The truth is that he hadn’t even realized that there was a strip club on their side. His eyes widened in recognition when he saw the Impala. He looked back at Charlie.

“Oh, I see” he said “But I started to suspect that it was Dean’s dreams when six cowboys appeared out of nowhere and started chasing me”

“Well, at least you were in a forest, I’ve been walking in a desert landscape for what seemed to be decades”

Sam raised his eyebrows in a questioning expression.

“I know, right?” Charlie said “You’d expect spooky forests and cowboys from Dean, not a desert. But anyway, that’s not the point” she said, and looked up at Sam, who had straightened his back, his breathing now normalized.

“The question is how can we be in Dean’s dream? Does it mean that we died in Cas’s dream, or maybe that he woke up and we were thrown into Dean’s dream?”

Sam shrugged, looking at his clothes and starting to pass his hands over the fabric to clean them.

“I don’t know. I mean, we don’t really know how the root works, but that makes sense”

There was a sudden silence as they both looked at each other. Then Charlie raised her eyebrows and tilted her head towards the strip club.

“So” she said “Are we going to check it or not?”

Sam scoffed.

“Absolutely not”

“Why?” she widened her eyes, confused.

“As it appears to be, we are in Dean’s dream, and there is a strip club. For me, it all screams _'wet dream’_ ”

Charlie crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Well, you were just chased by cowboys in the middle of a forest, for all we know Dean could be hunting down vampires inside that building”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to risk it. I’ve walked into Dean having sex a couple of times, and it was a little bit traumatizing”

Charlie sighed, a little bored. She tapped her right feet on the ground, looking around.

“So we’re just going to stay here?” she said after a few silent moments “Waiting for nothing, for Dean to wake up, or for the cowboys to catch you?”

“I think that they’ve vanished at some point, because I couldn’t hear them anymore”

Charlie rolled her eyes.

“Oh, come on, as you said, you’ve already caught Dean having sex, if there is something like that going on, we’ll just run and get out again” Charlie said.

She started walking towards the door of the club, and Sam turned his head at her as she started walking. He looked alarmed.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m going to get in, Sam” Charlie said, almost at the door “There is nothing else to do out here. If you want to follow me, be free to do so”

She stopped at the door and threw a last look at Sam, raising her eyebrows and smirking. Sam sighed, resigned. Charlie waited as he walked through the parking lot and passed by the Impala – glancing at it. Sam stopped in front of Charlie and looked at her as she put her hand on the door knob.

“Are you sure about it?” he asked her.

“Come on, Sam, it’s not a big deal” she said, and pushed the door open.

The atmosphere of the place was the one expected of a cheap club on the side of the road. The place smelled like alcohol, there was smoke in the air, and the sweet music - to which three ladies in their lingerie danced on the stage - was a little too loud. 

Sam concluded that it looked like a simple strip club. There were ordinary wooden tables distributed all around the main room; the bar was placed on the opposite side of the stage, across the room, and there were two women and two men working at it. 

There was a stage which advanced to the middle of the room - and almost divided it in two - with three dance poles on it. Women in angel’s and devil’s costumes walked around the place, taking notes from the clients or serving them drinks. Some of the women were doing lap dance.

Charlie and Sam looked around and Charlie nodded.

“See, that’s an ordinary strip club”

“Yeah, but I don’t see Dean” Sam said, stretching his neck and skimming the crowd in front of him.

They both stopped by the door for a moment, looking at people. Then Charlie suddenly pulled Sam by his sleeve.

“Look”

Sam looked at Charlie and followed her finger to the place she was pointing at. He didn’t see Dean, as he was hoping to; instead, sitting right in front of the stage, wearing a black suit, there was Castiel.

“I didn’t see him before because of the lack of trench coat” Sam said and Charlie nodded in agreement.

“What’s he doing there?” Sam continued “And where the hell is Dean?”

Charlie shrugged.

“What if this is still Castiel’s dream?”

“No” Sam said, concentrated on the issue “I mean, all of this feels like it _belongs_ to Dean. I still think he’s somewhere around here”

Charlie nodded and then pulled Sam by the sleeve again, but now conducting him to a table as she spoke.

“Okay, so, I think the best thing for us to do is sit down and look for him from a distant place where we can’t be seen”

Sam stopped as Charlie sat down at a table which was kind of hidden behind a column next to the wall. He looked at her, still a bit unsure.

“Don’t you think we should go over there and talk to Cas?” he asked.

“It didn’t do any good _invading_ the last dream, did it? I felt like it were us who attracted those demons. I think that we should let the dream goes on, and wait for it to be over, or for the effect of the _tea_ to end, and, hopefully, we will do this without drawing attention to ourselves.”

Sam nodded then, it did sound like the best plan. So he sat beside Charlie, still watching Cas as he did so. Charlie, on the other hand, was skimming the crowd again, probably looking for Dean.

Sam noticed that Castiel didn’t look like he belonged there. His face was passive, he looked at the tall brunette dancing in front of him, but somehow it didn’t look like he was seeing her. It looked like he was waiting for something to happen.

Charlie’s eyes - on their way through the room - met a waitress coming on their way. She stopped by their table. The woman was one of the “angels” of the place, she had black hair, and was wearing white laced lingerie. There were a plastic halo above her head and a pair of wings on her back.

“Can I get you guys anything?” she asked, smiling seductively.

Charlie stuttered, she looked at the women in contemplation. Sam was the one to answer.

“No, thanks, we’re good. Just…” and he smiled politely, looking at the stage “enjoying the show”

“Oh, all right. Enjoy yourselves, and if you need something, let me know, the name is Karma” she said, and, as she left, she winked at Charlie.

Charlie was smiling as she watched the woman walking away from them.

“Sam, remind me to thank Dean for such a great imagination” she said, leaning back on the chair.

Sam giggled, looking at Charlie, and then, suddenly, he realized the music had stopped - and not just the music, but there was a dead silence in the room. Sam looked at the stage, and he was surprised to find out that the former full room was completely empty. All the people – dancers, bartenders, waitresses, clients –, all of them had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

A moment after that, though, Sam realized he was mistaken, there was still one person in the whole room - besides him and Charlie. Castiel stood still at the same spot, apparently unaware that the whole club was suddenly empty. But now it looked like he was more relaxed. He leaned back on a chair, still looking ahead at the stage. He was smiling.

Sam jumped on his chair as the sudden dense silence was broken by a loud song.

_She's my cherry pie, cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise_

He looked around, unconsciously thinking that everyone would be back at its places. But there was still only Cas. Then, he felt a violent pulling on his sleeve and turned around to look at Charlie. She was looking at the stage, and she appeared astonished. But, before he could look at it, she pulled them both to the ground silently, in order to hide behind the table.

Only then Sam could pry from behind the table, following her eyes. What he saw made his face look exactly like hers - or maybe even a little more surprised. The large red curtains had been opened to reveal Dean Winchester, who was apparently wearing nothing but a dirty trench coat and pink high heels. He had started walking on the stage, abusing confidence. 

“Well, I guess that now we know where the trench coat is” Charlie whispered, and laughed as low as she could.

Dean stopped on the middle of the way, looking at Castiel and smirking. He danced for a while on the same spot, rolling his hips and putting the tip of one finger in his mouth, never breaking eye-contact with Castiel. To Sam’s surprise, as he looked back at Cas, he found him finally present in the scene. He was smiling back at Dean, and making a sign for him to get closer.

_Swinging on the front porch, swinging on the lawn, swinging where we want_

Dean walked slowly till he reached the end of the stage, as though to provoke Castiel. He stopped right in front of Cas, and started pole dancing. He circled the pole, with light and flowing movements, and stopped once again in front of Cas, facing him. Then Dean threw his hands above his head and held himself to the dance pole, moving his hips to the rhythm of the song, descending almost to the ground.

_Swingin in the living room, Swingin' in the kitchen, Most folks don't, Cause they're too busy bitchin'_

Sam had turned to the wall once Dean had started pole dancing. He had covered his ears with his hands and closed his eyes shut. Then, after some moments, he opened one eye and turned to look at Charlie to see how she was standing all of that. But Charlie turned out to be prying from the side of the table as Dean performed to Cas. Sam tapped her on the shoulder.

“What the _hell_ are you doing?”

“Dean is amazingly talented, you should see this” she said “He is _killing_ it up there”

Sam sighed and decided to look at what was happening on the stage again. When he did it, he wished that he hadn’t. Dean was now unbuttoning the trench coat slowly, while one of Cas’s hand was pressed against Dean’s leg, moving upwards smoothly. He let the coat fall to his feet once he was done with it, what made Sam bury his face on his knees, wishing he would forget what he’d just seen.

Underneath the coat, Dean was wearing nothing but pink silk panties.

Sam heard as Charlie exclaimed _“Oh, my God”_ , and he looked at her again. Now even she had turned her face to the wall, she looked at him, her mouth open in surprise, she was trying to find something to say, but she couldn’t.

_I scream, you scream, we all scream for her_

Back on stage, Dean was spinning around the pole hypnotically, holding on to it with only his hands. He stopped again and stood, this time with his back to Cas. He looked over his shoulder and winked before shaking his hips and descending slowly. Cas looked to be dazzled by him, his eyes fixated on him the whole time.

_She's my cherry pie, cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise_

When Charlie recovered her courage to look at them again, Dean was on the ground, on all fours, crawling towards Cas. She didn’t know how to feel at that moment. On one hand, she wanted it to stop, in the beginning it had actually been fun, but now - as the tension between the both of them got thicker-, it made her feel extremely uncomfortable, as though she was invading Dean’s privacy – what was actually true. On the other hand, her consciousness screamed at her about how right the fanfictions were, and she felt a little bit happy and ecstatic inside. 

_She's my cherry pie, put a smile on your face, ten miles wide_

Dean stopped right in front of Cas, kneeling in front of him. He brought one hand up and touched Cas’s cheek slowly, moving to his chest and pulling him closer by the tie.

“What are they doing?” Sam asked, hands over his ears as Charlie was the one who volunteered to accompany the scene.

“You _really_ don’t want to know”

_Don't even try, cause you can't ignore her_

Dean had sat on the edge of the stage, his legs were spread so Cas could be in the middle of them. He had one of his hands on Cas’s neck, holding him closer, the other one caressed his hair, ruffling it slowly.

“Oh, my God” Charlie whispered “I think they’re going to kiss”

“After all of this I think that a kiss isn’t that big deal anymore, is it?” Sam said, and Charlie turned back to the stage.

_Tastes so good make a grown man cry, sweet cherry pie_

Dean had his legs closed around Cas’s waist now, but he was still holding Cas’s face on the same way. Cas had one of his hands on Dean’s thigh, holding it in a strong grip. Dean was saying something to Cas, who looked up at him, listening, his eyes shining at him. Then Dean’s lips leaned towards Cas’s, and the angel’s did the same.

And everything turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think that I've chosen the song "Cherry Pie" because it was in one of the episodes of season 10 - when Dean was a still a demon. (and I know that people are not allowed to touch a dancer, but, well, it's a dream, and it's not like they are strange to each other and don't want it or something)
> 
> I've also never written about pole dancing. But hey, now my search history is a bit weirder and I've learned something new.
> 
> I hope you guys have enjoyed it, thank you so much for keep reading it <3
> 
> And, as always, let me know what you think!


	3. ...And back again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam wished that dream was one of those you quickly forget after having it, but the images refused to leave his brain. He was afraid about Dean's reaction to knowing what had happened, and he was already expecting Dean to be in a bad mood because of the dream.
> 
> Instead, to his and Charlie's surprise, Dean showed up in the kitchen with a slight smile on his lips while he whistled a song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say about it, it's been fun writing this story and I hope that you guys have felt the same way while reading it.
> 
> So, without further ado, enjoy the last part.

Sam and Charlie jumped on the couch almost at the same time. Sam looked around, scared, still a little confused from the dizziness of sleep. Charlie looked to be at shock, she looked at Sam slowly, her eyes wide.

“Was it-Did you dream- _Oh, my God_ ” she said, and Sam looked at her, a little shocked too.

“I-I don’t know what you are talking about” Sam said, trying to maintain his face serious.

_It’s been just a long, terrifying dream_.

“Oh, my God, Dean was pole dancing to Cas” Charlie said.

Sam covered his face with his hands and shook his head.

“Oh, _shit_ , I was hoping that it had all been just a dream of mine” then he raised his head from his hands “No, wait, anyway I wouldn’t be able to forget those scenes for a long while”

Charlie nodded. She still couldn’t decide whether she was feeling terrified at having seen that, or happy at knowing that Dean had had a wet dream about Cas after having dismissed her subtle comments about _Destiel_ several times.

“Sam, okay” she said “I know that no one was supposed to see that, and it wasn’t actually pleasing-“

“ _Pleasing_?”

“But don’t you realize what we’ve just seen?” she said, getting up and looking at Sam “I mean, maybe we should do something about it”

Sam then got surprised, he raised his hands in indignation.

“Oh, sure, we should call Dean and say _‘Hey, Dean, listen, we’ve invaded your dream by mistake, you know, that wet dream you had about Cas’_ ” he shook his head “Oh, it would be an amazing thing!” he concluded, sarcastically.

“But don’t you see?” Charlie still insisted “This could _mean_ something”

“Or it means _nothing_ , you know” Sam said “Dreams are not always about things that we desire, sometimes you have wet dreams about people you’ve never imagined yourself with”

“Maybe it’s your subconscious telling you something”

There was a sudden silence in the room, as Charlie walked around, moving her hands nervously and Sam stood still on the sofa, concentrated on the issue. Then, after a few moments, Sam got up and looked at Charlie, sighing.

“Okay” he said “I think that we don’t need to decide what to do with this information _right now_. We may discuss it tonight, or tomorrow, or _never_. The point is that what we need to do right now is cover the evidences which show that our _invasion_ has ever happened” and he pointed at the silver tray, where the two half-full cups of “tea” rested, undisturbed, looking completely innocent of doing more than warming their drinkers.

Charlie nodded.

“I agree. And now it’s only” and she looked at the wall clock “8:30. Usually Dean is not up until 9:30, and Cas sleeps for a little longer than that. So, we have plenty of time”

Sam nodded and rushed to pick up the tray. He looked around to see whether there was anything left on the ground, and, as he saw nothing, he headed towards the kitchen. Charlie picked up some cushions which had fallen to the ground and displayed them carefully on the couch. Then she straightened the carpet and the table - tidying the ornaments which were on it. Before she followed Sam, she looked back to make sure that everything was on its right place.

When she got to the kitchen, Sam had already dropped all the tea on the sink and was in the middle of washing the dishes. Charlie joined him and started drying the already clean things with a white cloth.

As the seconds passed by, Charlie and Sam remained in silence, but calmed down. They had almost finished cleaning the dishes when Charlie headed to the refrigerator, opened it and looked at Sam.

“You know, you should really label this thing” she said, taking the jar with the yellow liquid from inside and looking at it.

“Yeah, I’ll certainly do that when-“

At that moment, Charlie and Sam heard a muffled distant sound which they didn’t know where it came from. Soon, though, they recognized the sound as someone’s whistle. They both looked at each other and Charlie hurried to put the jar back in the refrigerator just in time they heard footsteps in the corridor. They run and sat on the table as fast as they could, trying to make it seem like they were having an ordinary conversation. 

Then Sam suddenly identified the melody. He widened his eyes as he recognized “Cherry Pie”.

A few seconds later, Dean appeared on the doorway, wearing his gray robe and his slippers. He had a slight smile on his lips as he whistled. Charlie and Sam experienced a flashback as they recalled the curtains opening and Dean walking on the stage in a trench coat. 

Dean stopped, a little embarrassed, when he saw them sitting there.

“Morning” he said, resuming his walk and walking towards the sink, starting to whistle again.

“Uh-Morning” Sam and Charlie said almost at the same time.

Sam choked at the end of his sentence, because of the song Dean was whistling. Charlie looked at him reprehensively, and then Dean turned around, noticing there was something weird in Sam’s voice.

He found Charlie looking around in a very suspicious way, and Sam was facing the table, turning his head to the side so Dean wouldn’t see him smiling widely.

“Is there something wrong? Am I naked or something?” Dean said, looking at Sam, a little bothered by his giggle.

“No” Sam said, raising his head and clearing his throat, trying to stay serious “No, there is nothing wrong with you, Dean, it’s just something Charlie was telling me when you walked in” he said, smiling.

Dean frowned, pondering for a bit, and then he just shrugged - to Sam’s and Charlie’s relief. 

“Okay, then” he said, his voice a bit awkward, turning to the sink again.

He opened one of the cabinets, taking a frying pan and landing it on the stove. He walked towards the refrigerator.

“So, Charlie” he said, picking up two eggs and a pack of ham and closing the refrigerator door “It’s a bit of a surprise to see you up so early”

Charlie raised her eyebrows.

“Well, as a matter of fact, it’s a surprise to see you up early too” 

“Ah, touché” Dean said, turning to her and winking.

He turned his attention to the sink again, in order to make omelet. But there was no time for him to start it, as Charlie soon spoke again.

“As a matter of fact, why are you up so early, Dean? Didn’t you sleep well?”

Sam looked at Charlie with wide eyes, suddenly alarmed. But Charlie was looking at Dean, a small smile on her face. Dean answered fast.

“No, actually, I’ve slept like a baby” Dean said, turning his back at them. 

He started whistling once again, cutting small bits of ham with a knife.

“Well, it shows, you’re in a good mood” Charlie continued, despite Sam’s attempts of making her stop by kicking her right leg weakly underneath the table “I bet you had nice dreams”

For a second, Dean stopped everything which he was doing, he licked his lips, suddenly grateful that they couldn’t see his expression. There was a moment of silence, as Sam looked alarmed at Charlie and as Charlie dismissed his worries with a wave of her hand. Then Dean turned his head and looked at them, it was clear that he was trying to look completely cool. He smiled wide.

“Well, yeah, it was a _very_ nice dream, but I don’t think you’ll like to know about the details, because, you know, it was a _wet_ dream” he said, turning to the sink again. 

“Oh, we don’t mind knowing” Charlie said, kicking Sam back as he was trying to make her stop again “So, did you dream of someone whom we know?”

There was another awkward pause. Then Dean turned to them again, smiling as naturally as he could.

“There was nothing special about it, no one you know, really” he giggled, letting a little of his apprehension be shown “There was a strip club, and a… party going on with… uh-“ he pursued his lips “Brunettes, blondes, gingers, do you want me to continue? Because it gets pretty good” Dean said, already in control of his voice and expression, smiling widely.

“No, no, Dean, there is no reason for that” Sam said, looking at Charlie with an expression which meant that it was time to stop.

“There’s no reason for what?” an unexpected harsh voice vibrated through the air.

Sam and Charlie jumped on their seats and the three of them looked immediately at the door. Castiel was standing on the doorway, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. His hair was disheveled, and he had a three day beard, he looked tired and sleepy.

“Hey, Cas” Charlie said, surprised.

“Good morning” Cas said, looking at Charlie, at Sam, and then at Dean. 

Sam raised one hand in a greeting. Dean looked fast at Cas and said a quick _“Morning”_ before turning his attention to the eggs which he was now cracking. He gulped down, flashbacks of his dream coming back to him. He sighed, telling himself to calm down, and added the pieces of ham to the mix, starting to beat it with a fork.

“God, Cas, you look completely worn out” Charlie said as Cas walked towards the cabinet on the other side of the kitchen to pick up a cup.

“I didn’t sleep well” he said, yawning.

“Nightmare?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, actually” he said, turning to face them “I had the craziest dream. In times like these, I actually miss being an angel, because it felt so real… I was terrified. I’ve actually been awoken for about half an hour. I tried to sleep again, but I couldn’t”

Dean looked over his shoulder at Cas.

“What was the dream about?”

Cas looked back at him, but, when their eyes met, Dean looked down again.

“It’s fading away now, but it had something to do with Game of Thrones” he looked at Charlie “I don’t think that watching that show was a good idea”

“Oh, Cas, come on” she said “You’ll have nightmares whether you watch TV shows or not. Being human implies having those experiences, but it also provides many good moments, for instance, Dean had a good dream today”

Dean bit his lip, glancing over the shoulder at Charlie. He really wished that she had said nothing about it. Cas looked at Dean for a while and then nodded.

“Yes, nice dreams are actually really satisfying, and such a unique experience” 

He took the pack of bread and the peanut butter which he was looking for in another cabinet and walked towards the sink. He stopped on Dean’s right side, letting the cup and the rest of the things on the sink and heading to the refrigerator to pick up some jelly.

Dean’s eyes glanced at Cas furtively while he was busy picking up the jelly. He looked at Cas from top to bottom, recalling the dream - Cas’s smile, the sensation of Cas’s tight grip on his thigh. He gulped down, looking back at the frying pan, in which he had put the mix and was already cooking the omelet.

“So what did you dream about, Dean?” Cas said, turning around and heading to the counter on Dean’s left side.

Dean swore in his mind, because he was already sure that Cas would let that subject go. He cleared his throat.

“Uh, strip club, women, things like that”

Cas frowned, a bit confused about the _good dream_ that Charlie had talked about, and opened the pots of jam and of peanut butter. At the table, Sam and Charlie looked at each other, trying not to start giggling.

“Oh, I’ve never dreamed of that, but I think that I understand what you mean by it” Cas said, and then he moved to the side, getting behind Dean and stretching his right arm to take the pack of bread and cup which he had left on the sink “You were in my dream, actually” he said, almost on Dean’s ear, because of the proximity.

Cas’s arm rubbed slightly on Dean’s back, making him froze immediately. He gulped down, sensing how close Cas was. The good sensation of the dream came back to him, and there was a half-conscious joy of having Cas that close to him.

Then he got the pack of bread and the cup and moved away, starting to prepare his sandwich.

“Uh-I was in you nightmare, then?” Dean asked.

“Yes, but you weren’t the bad part of it” Cas said “Well, I guess I was the bad part of it: I was taking you to Michael for you to be his vessel, and the Apocalypse was still happening” then he looked at Charlie and Sam “Actually, I think that you were there too, but I’m not so sure”

Charlie and Sam raised their eyebrows, trying to look surprised.

“Oh, really?” Charlie asked.

“I think so” Cas said.

Then Dean served his food on a plate and walked to the table in order to sit between Charlie and Sam. But before they could make a serious face, Dean noticed a glimpse of smile on their faces. They both looked down as fast as they could, trying to cover it. Dean sat down, looking at them a little uncomfortable.

“What?” he asked Sam.

Sam raised his head, his eyes appearing completely innocent.

“Nothing” he answered.

Dean frowned and, after a moment facing Sam, he directed his attention to the plate, taking a bite of his food. Cas passed by them and sat on the opposite side of Dean, starting to eat as well.

“Have you two already eaten?” Dean asked, his mouth full.

“Uh-yes, we did” Charlie answered.

“Toasts” Sam completed.

“Hum” Dean nodded, taking another bite.

There was a silent moment in the room, and then Castiel spoke again.

“Do you guys need the Impala today?”

At once, Sam and Dean both looked at him.

“Why?” Dean asked.

Cas then looked down, appearing not to know how to ask what he wanted to.

“I-I was thinking of visiting Claire today” he finally said, still looking down “And, as my car was stolen by Metatron, I thought that maybe I could borrow your car” he said, and then raised his eyes, looking directly at Dean.

Dean looked to be a little adrift as he looked into Cas’s eyes, recalling the flirty eyes with which the Cas from his dream had looked at him, in which there was no shame. He wished for a moment to have that gaze upon him again, and then, as he wasn’t saying anything, Sam cleared his throat.

“Well, we don’t have a case, Cas, but we don’t know whether we’re going to need the Impala. But, uh, there are other cars here in the bunker” Sam said, knowing how his brother was protective about the Impala “What do you think, Dean?”

Dean didn’t appear to have listened to that. He was still looking at Cas.

“ _Dean_?” Sam called again, making Dean finally look at him, back to reality.

“Uh-Actually” he looked across the table at Cas, his expression still a bit confused “It has been a while since I saw Claire and Jody too” Dean concluded “I could go with you, and then we can take the Impala”

Sam and Charlie both looked at Dean, their eyes a little widened.

“You-you want us to go with you two?” Sam asked.

“Well, uh, I don’t think it will be necessary” Dean started and then cleared his throat “I mean, last time you and Charlie dropped by Jody’s without us too. Besides, it’s good to have someone here at the bunker if something comes in”

Sam raised his eyebrows and then nodded.

“Yeah, well, I do think that I have to do some research on those artifacts Crowley stole from that museum last week. We still don’t know what that’s about”

Dean nodded, taking the last bite of his breakfast and getting up. He looked at Cas.

“So, when do you want to leave?”

“I was intending to take a shower and then go” Cas answered.

Dean nodded, leaving his plate on the sink.

“Okay, then, I’ll get ready and pack some things, just in case” he looked at Sam then “It’s your day to clean the dishes, right?”

“Oh, yeah, don’t worry about that” Sam answered.

Dean nodded and headed to the door. He stopped in the middle of the way and turned back to face Cas.

“So, I’ll see you in about half an hour outside, okay?”

Cas nodded, and Dean disappeared in the corridor. Cas got up immediately then, looking at Sam.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to wash this?” he asked, lifting the plate which he was holding.

“Oh, no, Cas, you can go and see Claire, I’ll take care of this”

Cas smiled kindly at Sam.

“Well, thank you very much” he said, heading to the sink and leaving his plate there.

He walked to the door and stopped at the doorway, turning to face them.

“Well, I guess we’ll be back by the end of the day. Bye, Sam” he tilted his head in Sam’s direction, and then at Charlie “Charlie”

“Bye, Cas” Charlie said, turning to face him and waving.

“Bye” Sam said, and then Cas also disappeared.

There was silence in the room while they could still listen to Cas’s footsteps. Once they faded away, Charlie looked at Sam, her mouth opened in surprise.

“So, will we talk about the elephant in the room? Or better, about the elephant which was in the room but left with those two?” she said, pointing at the doorway.

Sam nodded.

“I’m honestly surprised” he looked at the doorway “Dean handled this better than I’d thought he would”

“Right?” Charlie said “He was so calm about the issue, he was _whistling_ that song before he saw us”

“Makes you wonder whether he’s had dreams like that before” Sam said pursuing his lips.

“Yes” Charlie said, looking ahead, a little bit adrift “But we are not talking about the most important issue here”

Sam frowned.

“Uh-That maybe something will happen during this convenient trip?”

“Well, yeah, that too” Charlie said “But I was talking about how Cas’s subconscious really needs some creativity”

“Are you saying this because of how you died in his dream?”

“ _Of course_ ” Charlie exclaimed “I mean, can you believe it?”

Sam giggled.

“Well, yes, because it does prove that it was a _dream_. Few things make sense in dreams; in real life - or in a good novel - that would never happen, because, well, you kick too much ass to be killed like that”

Charlie smiled at him.

“Thank you, Sam”

After a moment, they got up, leaving the kitchen and heading to the research room. They talked about Dean’s dream in whispers - excited about the new possibilities, but afraid to be heard. 

In the bathroom, the water fell on Cas’s back and the steam raised to the ceiling as he thought of his weird dream – not about the demons, not about the Apocalypse, but about the fact that Dean was in it. Dean’s presence, for some reason, always made things better.

In his bedroom, Dean packed his things slowly, asking himself whether he should have said that he would go with Cas. The dream was still fresh in his memory, but despite that – or maybe _because_ of that – he felt extremely happy about that trip.

In the refrigerator, the jar with the African Dream Root rested undisturbed, like it had never been moved in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope that you guys have enjoyed it.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and, as always, let me know what you think <3
> 
> (I may or may not have an idea for a Christmas sequel, but that's another story)

**Author's Note:**

> (I've lingered several moments over the "lack of windows" part, because I thought that maybe it's a silly thing to say, but, well, I do know that it's easy to lose track of time even - and particularly - using a computer).
> 
> (I've also never written a swordfight before, so, sorry for any mistakes)
> 
> So, I hope that you've enjoyed it.
> 
> Please, leave me a comment (I'll take even constructive criticism).
> 
> And, as always, thank you for reading <3


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